Vaccination campaign for students aged 12-17 kicks off today

The vaccination campaign for students aged between 12 and 17 began. 

"As part of the nationwide drive, students aged between 12 and 17 will beinoculated from eight centers in Dhaka city tomorrow," Director General of Directorate General of Health Service (DGHS) Professor Dr Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam said Sunday evening.

Initially, the campaign will begin at eight centers in Dhaka city and it (campaign) will be conducted across the country in phases, he added.

The students would be given Pfizer vaccine, he said adding," Air condition system is needed for vaccination of Pfizer jabs...so, we will set up vaccination centers each district with air condition facility."

The eight Dhaka schools where Covid-19 vaccine will be provided are: Hurdco International School, Southpoint School and College, Chittagong Grammar School, Ideal School and College, Mirpur Commerce School and College, Kakoli High School and College, South Breeze School, and Scholastica School in Mirpur, the DGHS sources said.

On October 27, the United States (US) has donated 3.5 million more doses of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine to Bangladesh to support the country's new drive to inoculate child aged between 12 and 17. A total of 35 lakh doses of Pfizer jab will arrive next month in Bangladesh.

The health minister said the country has a target to vaccinate 50 percent people by December this year as the government intensified its efforts to collect required quantity of Covid-19 jabs.

"We hoped that we collect 16 crore doses of coronavirus vaccines by January next year... meaning we will be able to inoculate 50 percent people by December," he added.

On October 14, as many as 120 students aged between 12 and 17 were inoculated as a trial run of Covid-19 vaccination at Colonel Malek Medical College Hospital in Manikganj, Director General of Directorate General of Health Service (DGHS) sources said. All 120 children were given Pfizer jabs, it added. 

Children will be allowed to complete their registration using birth registration certificate, it added.